NEXUS PLAYS THE NOVELTY MUSIC OF GEORGE H. GREEN – Nexus Records 10273

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Rajah (3:16) G.H. Green/Becker

Frivolity (2:59) G.H. Green/Cahn

An Indian Story (2:59) G.H. Green/Becker

Valse Brillante (6:28) G.H. Green/Becker

Chromatic Fox-Trot (3:12) G.H. Green/Becker

Dotty Dimples (2:46) G.H. Green, V. Arden/Cahn

Keep Movin’ (3:42) G.H. Green/Becker

The Humming Bird (3:22) G.H. Green/Becker

The Ragtime Robin (2:32) G.H. Green/Becker

Spanish Waltz (4:20) G.H. Green/Becker

Charleston Capers (2:33) G.H. Green/Becker

CREDITS

Recorded in 1986 at McClear Place – Toronto

Except for The Ragtime Robin, the arrangements heard on this disc have never been recorded before. The dates of the compositions themselves span George Green’s spectacular career as a recording artist for virtually all of the major record companies of the acoustic era (which lasted until the introduction of electric microphones in the late 1920’s). The various styles comprise the most popular dance forms of the notorious ‘roaring twenties’.

The magnificent instruments heard on this recording rank among the finest of their kind and represent the ‘golden age’ of the marimba and xylophone in North America:

Deagan Imperial Marimba No. 64, ca. 1916

Deagan Marimba-Xylophone No. 4724, ca. 1926

Deagan Marimba No. 54, ca. 1936

Deagan Nabimba, ca. 1906 (courtesy Garry Kvistad)

Deagan Artist’s Special Xylophone No. 264, ca. 1919

Deagan Artist’s Special Xylophone No. 268, ca. 1916

Deagan Song Bells No. 102, ca. 1920

Deagan ‘Roundtop’ Glockenspiel No. 1230, ca. 1920

Kori Bass Marimba, ca. 1984 (courtesy Custom Music Company)

Of special interest is the sound of the rare Deagan Nabimba, an instrument manufactured for a brief time which made use of buzzing membranes in the resonator pipes. The characteristic sound of this instrument, which can be heard in the trio of Rajah and throughout Spanish Waltz, imitates the wonderful piquant timbre of the famous marimbas of Central America. Also very rare is the Deagan Artist’s Special Xylophone No. 268, a mammoth five-octave instrument. The low range of this xylophone, featured in An Indian Story and The Humming Bird, produces a unique and mysterious sound.